No one should expect to see a talking turtle as a pastor, but Miriel doesn’t even try to explain himself. The priest of the Church of Vows simply goes about his business, leaving questions to why he received his miter. This especially when the church was constructed specifically for Rennala and Radagon’s wedding. In all likelihood, it was thanks to his connections. Various sorcerers use phantom turtles for the riddles to unseal their towers, but only Chelona’s Rise on the Moonlight Altar uses giant turtles for this. Even the name Chelona comes from the ancient Greek for “turtle” — albeit this is just a product of the localization; the original name is Hierona, (ヒエロナ) which derives to mean “sacred place” in obvious reference to the wider area being an “altar”. Still, it is undeniable that some element of Carian culture in Liurnia holds a fascination with turtles similar in size to Miriel. Although he may teach arts of intelligence and of faith, possibly memorized with the help of what are seemingly memory stones crowning his hat, the priest of Vows most likely owes his position to the native royal family.

However, that still doesn’t explain the turtle’s origin. While turtles are among the various wildlife atop the Moonlight Altar, they are few and far between, much like in Liurnia at large. Where then does a giant among them emerge and become a known quantity to Caria? Perhaps further east. We find that Summonwater Village has collected a large number of turtles in their basement, safe behind an imp statue seal along with the Green Turtle Talisman. As alluded in its description, turtles symbolize inexhaustible power with their bodies’ stamina regeneration — slow and steady always wins the race, per the popular fable. But while the turtle neck is known as a nutritious foodstuff in the southern reaches of the Lands Between because of that, with even Miriel saved from a meat peddler looking to butcher him if not for Elemer hunting the bell-bearer first, such a custom is considered barbaric to those calling the turtle a wise beast. The village may not sit too far from a merchant selling a warrior’s cookbook including the recipe for pickling turtle meat, but they don’t take part.

Indeed, the village was probably established for the shelled reptiles. While mostly found on land like tortoises, there are cases of turtles inhabiting ponds and lakes across the Lands Between, showing that they do enjoy the water. It may well be because he has gone so long without an appropriate pool to dive in that Miriel’s skin is so dry; comparing himself to stone that is practically uninjurable, let alone unkillable. Therefore, any place with fresh water is sure to be ideal for the species’ comfort if not longevity. How convenient that the village just so happened to establish itself above a major spring, learning how to call up the water currently flooding large parts of the ruins thanks to Deathroot ending management. It is almost as if they came and controlled the water flow just to give their “wise beasts” a more hospitable habitat. And if the community so fervently wished to preserve turtles from the barbaric fringefolk, it only makes sense to found their entire settlement somewhere like that.

Desist, good sir. I am already like stone for the most part. Not wounded, or dying.

With that in mind, it is simple to surmise how they became such turtle lovers. While technically part of Limgrave, Summonwater Village lies at the western tip of the Sellian trade network, meaning that its population most likely migrated from the Caelid region. There are no signs of sorcery in the village, but anyone integrated into Sellia’s culture assuredly respected the qualities of sorcerers, namely their intelligence as wise men. And if they found the same in turtles, then it is only natural to become so protective of them. But no small turtle demonstrates any degree of wisdom, and yet Summonwater Village remains convinced of it. Their belief is thus only justifiable if they knew Miriel, a beast with the intelligence to communicate in their language. And considering the land’s penchant for gigantism, it wouldn’t be odd to see that extend to its native turtles. In other words, Miriel was born in Caelid, his unique sentience possibly owed to a larger brain. He inevitably encountered man, and so impressed by his wisdom, a group journeyed to create a paradise for him and his kind.

The future priest was essentially these non-sorcerers’ glintstone, befitting his Celtic name’s meaning of “bright sea” in clear connection to brightstone and the cosmic sea. In fact, this would likely be Miriel’s first encounter with human kindness, something which has shaped his outlook as the Church of Vows. Consider life at Summonwater Village before the Liurnian Wars. Old Miriel had doubtless lived to see Sellia develop hegemony over the region, connecting peoples all over up to and including his village. Then, he saw that village become the stage for connecting the sorcerer populations in both Liurnia and Caelid, possibly even helping to mediate the peaceful union of hegemonies from the center. Thanks to that trade, the idea of turtles being wise beasts has become widespread among sorcerers, from the farthest south to the furthest north. More than anyone, Miriel has seen the power of bonds to let nations flourish, how ties can even cross the species barrier. It is no wonder that he views the breaking of bonds and broader breakdown into violence as tragically pointless.

Eventually, the Carians took over Liurnia and began sinking their claws into Caelid, where the giant turtle advocating unity probably came to their attention. That was all he was until the Church of Vows was being constructed. The building facilitated the ritual supplied by the Nox, but unsurprisingly, no one of the Eternal Cities wanted to any deeper involvement with a marriage involving royalty blessed by the Greater Will — just asking might have been considered an insult, regardless of diplomatic relations. At the same time, the war needed a neutral party to bring the two families and countries together on ostensibly equal footing, so they had to find someone to do it. Remembering Miriel as a peacemaker, Rennala recruited him to officiate her wedding to Radagon, the reptile agreeing to wear the miter because their story so perfectly encapsulated the power of tying knots. Summonwater Village had no reason to object to their wise beast’s choice to leave, especially when there were plenty of others in need of “saving” by them. And so, Miriel acted as witness to the greatest union in Erdtree history.

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